A couple question sabout DynDOLOD for SSE

[drift123]

I'm installing DynDOLOD Ultra Trees version for Skyrim Special Edition. My questions are:

1) If using Re-engaged ENB, will the Indistinguishable Vanilla Billboards for SE - MEDIUM brightness version work, or should I use the dark billboards? Is this just a matter of testing out what looks good?

2) I see in the SE documentation that there is an issue with tree LOD reflection in SE. If I am using Ultra Trees and tree LOD is disabled, will tree reflections look good on their own, or do I need to take some extra step similar to disabling tree LOD reflections or setting average billboard background colors in DYNDOLOD?

 

3) I use Lanterns of Skyrim. Do I need to install the DynDOLOD patches and check Lanterns of Skyrim like in Oldrim or will this mod work automatically?

 

Thank you

Edited March 26, 2018 by drift123

[sheson]

1) Any billboard texture will "work" with DynDOLOD regardless if it was made for Skyrim or Skyrim SE. If you are asking if a specific 3rd billboards will match better or worse visually with the rest of the game you are setting up, only you can test and find that out.

 

2) The LOD water reflection bug happens for all LOD objects with transparency, regardless if it is tree LOD or object LOD . AFAIK as I know ENBs FixReflectionTrees=true in enblocal.ini only fixes it for tree LOD and it still happens for object LOD. Ultra trees uses object LOD, so similar visual problems occur. The equivalent setting in Skyrim.ini is bReflectLODObjects.

 

3) The DynDOLOD patches are made for Skyrim and not tested with Skyrim SE. The patched scripts may or may not work with the Skyrim SE version of Lanterns of Skyrim. I haven't tested that.

[drift123]

Okay cool. What exactly do the patched scripts (for Laterns of Skyrim, etc) fix?

[sheson]

From the manual:

 

Lanterns of Skyrim - Optional: to sync switching of LOD on/off install and overwrite one script from DynDOLOD Patches. Make a backup of the original script first, only change scripts between saves when in an interior.

[drift123]

I see. Thanks

[drift123]

Okay I have one more question and its about the Large Reference System. I've read the Skyrim SE manual as well as the Large Reference Grid document but I'm still confused as to how it works.

Is it preferable to use the large reference system or to disable it?

From what I've read if I don't use the large reference system then I should check 'Upgrade NearGrid LargeRefs'. But I'm not sure whether its better to use the Large Reference Fix or not.

[sheson]

That depends if you use a lot of mods that cause the large reference bugs to be noticeable a lot. The list of plugins modifying large references at the end of the DynDOLOD log can be used as a hint.

 

If you notice a lot of texture flicker with uLargeRefLODGridSize > 5 then it would seem better to not use it. If it is clear that large references setting is turned off then the best option is to set IgnoreLargeReferences=1 in the DynDOLOD ini. Alternatively, visually, the best option is to check Upgrade NearGrid Large Refs. That way the generated LOD mod will also stay compatible in case the  future large references are used in the future.

[drift123]

Okay. So I've generated the LOD and there is a new .esm file. Should I include this in the .zip archive with Meshes, Textures and the .esp. Or do I need to add it separately to NMM? Will that even make a difference?

Also, does disabling large references affect visuals or performance?

(sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure I do this right)

Edited March 26, 2018 by drift123

[sheson]

You can install all created files through including all DynDOLOD plugins with one archive. Installing the same files in several steps would make no difference.

 

The higher the uLargeRefLODGridSize, the higher its performance demands, since more and more full model objects are shown further away.

[drift123]

So if I disable the Large Reference system and set uLargeRefLODGridSize to 0, and check the Upgrade LargeRefs box in DynDLOD...will the visuals be just as good but without those bugs? I'm just wondering why Skyrim SE vanilla uses the Large Reference system if it makes performance worse...

If I understand it correctly, turning it off does decrease the visuals without DynDOLOD, but with DynDOLOD mod the distant object LOD will be replaced anyways.

Edited March 26, 2018 by drift123

[sheson]

Docs\SkyrimSELargeRefGrid\SkyrimSE-LargeRefGrid.html explains what large references are. A select few full (large) full models are loading a few cells ahead past the loaded cells.

 

Docs\DynDOLOD_Manual.html explains what object, tree and the optional dynamic LOD from DynDOLOD is and how DynDOLOD drastically improves LOD by shipping with over 4500 new/updated LOD models.

 

More or less each large full model that is pushed by the large references either has a real LOD model in vanilla or added with DynDOLOD or a full or LOD model like the large references in case it is animated or requires features that static object and tree LOD does not support. So DynDOLOD compensates adequately. It is basically back to how Skyrim worked already.

 

For some objects it is nice to have the full model show a bit further, to push the distance of the transition from LOD to full model a bit ahead. Especially considering that those full models receive/cast shadows for example.

 

If the hardware and setup supports it, using large references with DynDOLOD is visually the best possible mix (and the better the visuals the more performance it requires)... if... well if only there weren't the bugs because Bethesda did not anticipate that there would be any mods changing references in the worldspaces.

Edited March 26, 2018 by sheson

[drift123]

I think I understand it better now. Do you think you will ever find a solution (as opposed to disabling Large refs) or does Bethesda have to fix the bug? Is it something Bethesda could fix easily?

Edited March 27, 2018 by drift123

[sheson]

This is a game engine bug. Bethesda should be the one to fix game breaking engine bugs, especially considering that Skyrim SE is an active platform for micro transactions / paid mods.

 

By all accounts the most prominent parts of the bug should be easy to fix: always properly unload LOD as there is no reason to not unload it regardless of what mods do to references or anything else.

 

It is likely possible to create a fix as a SKSE plugin after investigating the program code. However, I am not looking into fixing game breaking bugs of an active game platform that is used for in-game micro transactions.

 

A possible workaround would be to rigorously remove all the existing large reference data from all vanilla plugins, including Skryim.esm and only add  back the data for large references that are not modified by plugins in the current load order. That would be a drastic measure and doesn't help the 4.5 million or so console users, though.